Ghost Towns May Haunt Ireland in Property Loan Gamble

The skeleton of an eight-story Dublin office block lays deserted on the north bank of the River Liffey, just next to the financial district that less than two years ago was the heart of Ireland’s economic boom.

Four cranes stand idle at the site, one of at least 35,000 unfinished or empty new offices and homes that dot Ireland’s landscape after the collapse of its real estate market.